[WCUSP] Dems Falling in Line on Israel by Stephen Zunes

[KATHARLOW at aol.com]

DEMOCRATS FALLING IN LINE  ON ISRAEL 
Stephen Zunes, TomPaine.com, 11/15/06
_http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/11/15/falling_in_line_on_israel.php_ 
(http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/11/15/falling_in_line_on_israel.php)  

[Stephen Zunes is a professor of Politics at the University of San  Francisco 
and the author of Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of  
Terrorism (Common Courage Press). He serves as Middle East editor of Foreign  Policy 
in Focus.]

The election of a Democratic majority in the House and  Senate is unlikely to 
result in any serious challenge to the Bush  administration's support for 
Israeli attacks against the civilian populations of  its Arab neighbors and the 
Israeli government's ongoing violations of  international humanitarian law.

The principal Democratic Party spokesmen  on foreign policy will likely be 
Tom Lantos in the House of Representatives and  Joe Biden in the Senate, both of 
whom have been longstanding and outspoken  supporters of a series of 
right-wing Israeli governments and opponents of the  Israeli peace movement. And, 
despite claims-even within the progressive  press-that future House Speaker Nancy 
Pelosi is a "consistent supporter of human  rights," such humanitarian 
concerns have never applied to Arabs, since she is a  staunch defender of right-wing 
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his  predecessor Ariel Sharon.

For example, when President George W. Bush  defended Israel's assaults on 
Lebanon's civilian infrastructure this summer and  defied the international 
community by initially blocking United Nations efforts  to impose a cease-fire, the 
Democrats rushed to pass a resolution commending him  for "fully supporting 
Israel." The resolution, co-authored by Rep. Lantos,  claimed that Israel's 
actions were legitimate self-defense under the U.N.  Charter and challenged the 
credibility of reputable human rights groups.  Although groups like Amnesty 
International and Human Rights Watch groups  documented widespread attacks by 
Israeli forces against civilians in areas far  from any Hezbollah military 
activity, the resolution praised "Israel's  longstanding commitment to minimizing 
civilian loss and welcom[ed] Israel's  continued efforts to prevent civilian 
casualties." All but 15 of the House's 201  Democrats voted in support. 
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